Inside Tim Sheens’ first day back ast Wests Tigers coach and bid to resurrect struggling NRL club
Tim Sheens has wasted no time in his second coming as Wests Tigers coach. The veteran clipboard holder has made a blunt assessment of their fortunes, and how he plans to fix them.
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A day after crashing to one of the worst defeats in Wests Tigers’ strife-torn history, Tim Sheens has spoken passionately about his bold plan to rebuild the shattered joint venture.
“You fix it with hard work,” said the 71-year-old, who famously turned up with a bucket of paint and a brush in 2003 and won a comp two years later.
But while conceding taking charge of the current NRL wooden spooners would be a tougher gig than when he first arrived two decades ago, Sheens point blank refused to publicly comment on Sunday’s 56-10 capitulation out of respect to interim coach Brett Kimmorley.
“I was not the coach yesterday and I don’t want to be critical of anything from that point of view,” Sheens said.
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But the four-time premiership winning coach was up front about the job ahead of him and new assistant Benji Marshall.
And with that he spoke openly about the faith he has in the gun crop of juniors coming through that reminds him of two decades ago, the fact he was still hunting more high profile recruits to join Api Koroisau and Isaiah Papali’i, and why he has already locked in his spine for next season.
That will consist of Luke Brooks and Adam Doueihi as the halves, Daine Laurie at fullback, new buy Koroisau at hooker, leaving Jackson Hastings at lock.
Plenty have been critical of the fact Brooks in on $1 million plus yet he has never taken the Tigers to the finals previously.
So why would the Tigers want to keep him going forward with Newcastle consistently showing interest?
Yet Sheens was resolute Brooks remains the club’s top choice halfback ahead of youngster Jock Madden for next season.
Asked if Madden was Penrith bound, as reports suggest, Sheens said: “He hasn’t said so. Nor has his agent. Nor have Penrith.”
But he is off contract?
“He is off contract.”
But as for the make-up of the spine he was more forthcoming.
“It sounds all right to me,” he continued.
“From our point of view, they all have a year to go on their contract. And we have to see if that is the system we go forward with.
“If it is not good enough out to take us out of last position then things will change.
“But it won’t be just the spine, it will be the team generally.
“You fix it with hard work.
“It is not just the players, it is the staff. My role as from today is as coach. So now I am thinking as the coach.
“I am planning from that point of view.
“Benji has been in contact already and we have meetings planned for this week.”
And after finishing with the club’s first wooden spoon, Sheens agreed it was a tougher task ahead than when he took charge in 2003.
“It is,” he agreed.
“I think that year, Rugby League Week, the good old magazine, ran a players’ poll which said which club would you least want to play at?
“And guess who it was?
“But funny enough in the same instance we had a good crop of kids coming through (back then).
“And in my Flegg side (this year) I reckon I have got quite a few first grade players.”
He also reminded everyone that as many as “10 first graders” didn’t play in Sunday’s disastrous loss.
“I am not throwing excuses up,” Sheens said.
“I am just saying we have got some ammunition coming back.
“And on top of the ones that are coming back we have still got the two boys, Koroisau and ‘Ice’ (Papali’i), and we are not finished recruiting yet.”
But reminded again of the train wreck this season was, he added: “I have been there before. I started when Penrith was a train wreck.
“When the CEO told me that if we win one game, one game, he would be happy.
“That was ’84, my first season, and ‘85 we made the semis.”
So does that mean the Tigers would be back fighting for the finals next year?
“Not even pondering that at the minute,” he said.
“Ask me that question six games into next year.
“Look, I know we are going to cop some stuff, but it won’t be through lack of effort.
“I can guarantee you.”
TIGERS’ FINAL INSULT TO LONG-SUFFERING FANS
- Matt Encarnacion
Andrew Johns summed it up best: Pathetic. And that was only after half an hour.
The NRL’s worst team of the year saved one of their worst efforts for last – a 56-10 rollover against an understrength Canberra side to wrap up the regular season.
The Tigers gave up a remarkable 42 points in just 26 minutes in an embarrassing first-half effort, prompting the 10,041 Leichhardt faithful to boo their wooden-spooners into the sheds.
And while the hosts matched the Raiders’ two tries in the second half, the damage was done.
With their finals spot locked in after Brisbane’s loss 24 hours earlier, coach Ricky Stuart opted to rest Canberra duo Jack Wighton and Elliott Whitehead for their elimination final against Melbourne.
But that mattered little to one of the league’s hottest teams, who showed no mercy against a Tigers side that were savaged 72-6 against the Storm just a fortnight ago.
A 10-minute period at the start of the second half where they scored through Daine Laurie and Ken Maumalo saved the Tigers from a similar humiliation.
But it failed to disguise the mammoth task Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall have of rebuilding a broken playing group that has been brought to its knees this season.
“Really poor first half. It could’ve been extremely ugly if it had’ve stayed on that path,” interim coach Brett Kimmorley said.
“It doesn’t change the fulltime result, but 16-10 in the second half was a better outcome than what it could’ve potentially got to, which would’ve been very dark, very bad for the club.”
The Tigers’ inept display overshadowed a clinical performance from an in-form Canberra side that will arrive at AAMI Park with seven wins from their past eight games.
OPENING THE CURTAINS
Raiders centre Matthew Timoko opened the scoring when he Brent Naden overran a Jamal Fogarty grubber in the sixth minute – and it was a procession from there.
The visitors scored in their next two kick-off sets through Nick Cotric and Jordan Rapana, before Hudson Young spun through some porous goal-line defence.
Xavier Savage and Jamal Fogarty finished off the 42-0 first half assault, the latter of whom finished off a 60-metre line break from Zac Woolford from dummy-half.
“This is just so, so bad,” Johns said. “They pretty much open the curtains and say, ‘Come through.’ … The only word is pathetic.”
UNWANTED TIGERS RECORDS
The Tigers’ 12th defeat in 13 games means they not only finish with their first wooden spoon in the club’s history, but with a host of unwanted statistical records.
Their four wins is the least, their 20 losses the most, and their average 14.9 points the lowest since Western Suburbs and Balmain merged in 2000.
Captain James Tamou also likely played his final game in the NRL, while second-rowers Kelma Tuilagi and Luke Garner played their final games for the club.
“The pain that the players have gone through this year is enough for them to look in that mirror and change and go, ‘There is a change coming next year, but I’ve got to do more about myself to help that change’,” Tamou said.
“Can’t just rely on other change of staff, change of scenery, players coming in. We’ve had some dark times and I think that’ll help the club… I wish the club all the best.”
YOUNG TALENT TIME
Young continued his surge towards a possible plane ticket to England with another try-scoring double – the fourth consecutive game he’s crossed the stripe.
He showed neat footwork to claim his second, taking his season tally to 13 and becoming the first Raiders forward to score at least 12 tries since Ben Kennedy in 1997.
Corey Horsburgh may face a nervous wait to find out his status for the Storm clash after being placed on report for a high tackle on Jock Madden in the second half.
Tigers hooker Jake Simpkin was also cited for a hip drop on the Raiders big man.
Originally published as Inside Tim Sheens’ first day back ast Wests Tigers coach and bid to resurrect struggling NRL club
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